Rhinos Reeling As Elephants Crash the (Grand Ol') Party
Would the political world be a better place without the Republican Party? Some might say with a smile, ‘Potentially.” But, that would definitely not be true this presidential election cycle for those Republican voters who think of politics as a form of entertainment as opposed to the grave responsibility of electing the next leader of the free world.
And, entertained many politically conservative-leaning voters appear to be. Americans seen at rallies across national news channels seem almost giddy at the next quick one liner that reportedly reflects and reinforces their own reportedly ‘angry’ notions (The Atlantic). Adding to the circus, pundits are scratching pencils (and then their heads) as they try to decipher the calculus behind the oddly winning campaign strategies of this year’s more radical party outsiders. Exactly how do candidates rise to the top of their party’s polls when they promulgate ideas that lock people out of jobs or safe haven on the basis of race or religion?
Is it to their credit that some establishment GOP politicians are choking back bile as they watch an unexpected picture of a man emerge who will (all things being equal) likely become their presidential nominee? Or, should they be condemned for not doing more to oust people who they say don’t reflect their party’s values?
And finally, surely the Rhinos of the GOP (a nickname for the more moderate voices of the right wing political party) are reeling as the Elephants (a.k.a. self-proclaimed true conservatives) step on toes all the way to the summer nominating convention. Are the Rhinos asking themselves, have the voters abandoned their establishment, or have they simply abandoned their senses?
Some commentators such as Charles Krauthammer on Fox News, Joe Scarborough on MSNBC, and even Wolf Blitzer of CNN seem to question if Americans are ‘so over’ deciding who their leaders are vis a vis their conservative or liberal positions on a myriad of issues. If the current presidential polls are accurate, the average voter isn’t even all about building a better place for everyone to live. Nor do real issues facing the country appear to be front and center on the leading candidates’ rhetoric agendas.
Heck no. Superficially, indicators seem to point that presidential politics this time around is entertainment. And not just any kind of entertainment. This is more like thera-tainment. It’s entertainment that acts like a therapeutic bandage for all the ‘angriness’ that American feel in their current political predicaments, whatever they may be. And, in a political climate that has stumped pundits that follow stump speeches, 2016 could mark the year when the Grand Ol’ Party digs its own grave just so it can revolve in it.
Exactly how did they make Donald Trump their potential leader (so far)?
Donald Trump is the front runner for the GOP. Saying it out loud, like the famous author J.K. Rowling quipped, for some Americans might as well be like saying Voldemort is the front runner for the GOP nomination. Having said that, how did Trump top the field since his announcement so long ago?
According to a recent report from CNN, “The Republican Party's current trauma stretches back at least to the 1990s, if not earlier. It lies in a transformation that turned the GOP from a party of consensus government that produced presidents like Dwight Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush into a party of rebellion in which the rank and file are consumed with anger at party leaders who they believe habitually maneuver to block true conservatives from winning the nomination.”
But that explanation leads one to ask this: what are people in the party so anxious to rebel against? Turns out…everything.
Republican strategists claim in multiple news reports that they ‘underestimated’ just how angry their electorate is after the Obama administration’s last eight years in office. According to the BBC, “69% (of Republicans) - are angry because the political system "seems to only be working for the insiders with money and power, like those on Wall Street or in Washington," according to a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll from November.”
The BBC went on to say that, “Many people are not only angry, they are angrier than they were a year ago, according to an NBC/Esquire survey last month - particularly Republicans (61%) and white people (54%) but also 42% of Democrats, 43% of Latinos and 33% of African Americans.”
And, anger apparently makes for good political blindfolds. Despite a myriad of statements that would drop most candidates to flat lined status, Trump’s supporters have been persuaded that he will be a “strong leader” and that is pretty much all that matters. Once that decision has been made, any liberal media fact-checking of Trump’s statements, particularly criticisms that seem “politically correct,” only confirm that original impression (Washington Post.)
According to papers like the Washington Post, “The details don’t matter in the least. What matters is the vague impression that Trump is “strong,” i.e., that he has the sheer will to solve whatever problems his voters see as the most pressing ones at any given second. Only Trump is willing to say what all the others, particularly the puny politicians, won’t say (Washington Post).”
In short, the party punch has been spiked with bad blood at the Grand Ol’ Party, and the mood is more sour than fresh squeezed lemon juice sans the sugar. With that analogy in mind, one can only imagine that the upcoming Republican nominating convention where their presidential candidate will be formally (or will be formerly?) announced will be far more bitter, and not at all sweet.
Sources:
"GOP Establishment Fears Donald Trump Could Permanently Tarnish Republican Party Image - The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
"How Donald Trump Took the GOP by Storm - CNNPolitics.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
"Why Are Americans so Angry? - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
Image Credit:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/25/donald-trump-rises-to-38-nationally-ted-cruz-edges-into-2nd-at-12/
